The Salvation Army has asked Anglican Bishop Te Kitohi Pikaahu to chair a revamped Māori ministry rūnanga which will provide strategic guidance to the organisation.
Ian Hutson, the head of the army’s social policy and parliamentary unit and co-chair of its former bicultural rūnanga, says about 40 percent of the 150,000 people who access services each year are Maori.
He says in the past the organisation hasn’t been as responsive as it should be, and it wants to better implement Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
A covenant has been written between the army’s territorial governance board and the rūnanga.
“It’s based on a relationship of commitment to each other, to God’s mission because we are a Christian organisation but also fulfilling God’s plan for Aotearoa and TSA’s tiriti alignment and also to ensure Māori aspirations are part of everything we do,” Mr Hutson says.
